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Price of fresh milk has risen after reform

By Dimitra Manifava

Reforms introduced this spring aimed at bringing down the price of fresh milk have not only failed to deliver, but consumers have witnessed price hikes in recent months and are now turning to evaporated milk.

Hellenic Statistical Authority data showed that the average price of fresh milk in June climbed by 4.46 percent compared with the same month in 2013. In April, just after the law to extend the sell-by date for fresh milk from five to seven days and to introduce pasteurized milk that will be collected and packaged within 24 hours and have a two-day shelf life, prices had climbed by 2.08 percent from January 2014.

The continued high prices for fresh milk have led to a new decline in consumption. Figures from market research specialist IRI revealed a 1.2 percent or 2-million-liter decline in sales of unflavored milk in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2013. Fresh and UHT milk, which together account for the biggest market share, have seen an annual decline of 1.6 percent, while evaporated milk has seen its sales grow by 0.2 percent in the same period.